Boston General Manager Theo Epstein reportedly received permission from Red Sox owner John Henry to go to $142 million, and Angels GM Tony Reagins reportedly received similar approval from owner Arte Moreno.

Genske, meanwhile, called Crawford to ask where he preferred to play if both offers were the same. The answer: Boston.

When Reagins arrived at Genske's suite for an 11 p.m. meeting, he was told that Crawford had a deal somewhere else. Reagins, according to the reports, was irate, telling Genske he thought $142 million would get the deal done.

"The Angels were viewed by the industry as the front-runner for Crawford's services, but one source suggested that the Halos had only gone to $108 million, though it was not clear what the term of that offer was."

As simplistic as it sounds, 108 is divisible by six, and rumors generally involve round, easily divisible numbers. If Bradford's source is correct about $108, we can probably assume it was over six years -- $18 million per season.

“I'm crushed, man,” Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, who has been recruiting Crawford since the All-Star break, said by phone from his home in Texas. “I'm sitting here in a daze right now, like, what the heck just happened?

“He's like a key piece for us, but this is a business, you've got to keep going, go to the next one. They'll figure out what you've got to do, and I'm pretty sure they'll get it done.”

"That hurts my heart, man," Angels outfielder Torii Hunter told CBSSports.com. "But hey, what can you do? You've just got to go on to the next one. Congratulations to him. He deserves it. I'm disappointed, man. I really wanted to play with him."

Who now? Adrian Beltre should be a (relatively) easy sign. Barring a Tony Reagins surprise, I'd think the Angels turn hard toward Beltre. He'll be cheaper than what they had budgeted for Crawford, which could -- optimistically -- leave room for a closer (free agent Rafael Soriano, perhaps) or an upgrade at 5th starter. But the Angels don't have a ton of salary room, so it might just be Beltre and call it a winter. Their payroll is around $127 million already, and they said at the beginning of the offseason they were aiming for $135 million. They could go after Cliff Lee -- they've had some contact with the pitcher this winter -- but it would be a surprise to see them outbid the Yankees. The Angels simply won't do some of the crazy things the Yankees can get away with.

Of course, the Rangers have a lot of money, and they're still lurking -- on Beltre, and on Lee.

"One source described Crawford as the clear "focal point" of the Angels. Another source said that after talking with the Angels' people, he was stunned by how confident they were about eventually signing Crawford.

Not inconceivable that the Yankees could pull off a repeat of 2008/2009 offseason, when they got the biggest free agent position player and starting pitcher. Shoot, the contract values could even be about the same for Lee and Crawford as they were for Sabathia and Teixeira.

And besides being fairly shocking -- I never heard a single rumor linking Jayson Werth to the Nationals -- it ruins everything.

1. There were two star outfielders available, Werth and Crawford. There were, so far as we could all tell, two front-running big-market teams after a star outfielder, the Angels and the Red Sox. While it's never easy to bag a $100 million ballplayer, it seemed like the pieces were all lining up nicely. The Red Sox would get Werth. The Angels would get Crawford. The Rangers would get 1.825 percent interest on all the money they failed to spend this winter. Now it's a full-on bidding war for one star player. And if the Nationals were lurking for Werth, who knows who is lurking for Crawford. Somebody start photoshopping Carl Crawford into a Pirates uniform.

2. Jayson Werth got seven years, $126 million. Carl Crawford is going to get more than Jayson Werth. We're getting to the point where Carl Crawford is going to get paid more than he's, ahem, worth, and you almost have to hope your team doesn't sign him. Eight years, $160 million? I'm thinking so. And if so, I'm thinking no.

3. Remember a year ago when people were talking about how maybe Scott Boras was losing his luster? A client or two had dropped him, Johnny Damon had gotten a terrible deal, etc.? Yeah, shut it. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world to give Jayson Werth seven years and $126 million.